#Temple in #Taipei. The #cultural difference between temples mainland #China and #Taiwan was interesting. Taiwan had more varieties of blue, a lot more incorporation of ocean symbolism, and a lot of practicing believers in there praying. In China you have some believers pray, but it’s more like ‘while I’m here.’ In Taiwan the feel is that they normally come, and this is daily life.
Either way, the temples are gorgeous!
We climbed Elephant Mountain 😵 💀 I stopped counting after 400 stairs – I have since died of stair death. 👻 I am just a ghost now. . . . But seriously! 👍🏔 It was the nicest time I’ve had in a while. We didn’t get there until after 6 and it was already way dark. I was worried it would be full of drunks / creeps / make-out sessions. It wasn’t! We kept running into the nicest people! Everyone was encouraging each other. Ran into a group of about 15 #Indonesia students there for someone’s birthday. Then a group of #Korean boys. Then some westerners. A #Chinese girl who was posing for a billion pictures with the help of a #Philippine boy who was great about trying different shots and so patient. Then a sweet #Philippine boy walked us down – he’s just finished a contract in Japan. Everyone was just telling each other ‘you can do it! You’re almost there!’ This is what ‘coming together’ and ‘community’ should look like. ❤️❤️ Made me fall in love with humanity again.
‘By the river I went walking
When my troubles came to mind.
But I did not stop for them
And they could not catch up to me.’
This is the breath-taking park at #Arashiyama in #Kyoto Japan. My friends went to find the #monkey 🙈🙉🙊park at the top of the mountain, but I’m not a HUGE fan of monkeys up close – and – personal. So I just walked along the river. This day is one of my most precious memories. The atmosphere just soothes your soul ❤️.
Art in the temple & gardens of Sanjusangendo & Chishaku-in at the beautiful #Kyoto. Facebook reminded me of this trip in my memories today. I still say, if you could only visit one city in all of #Japan, go to Kyoto. Breathtaking history, culture, art, museums, temples, natures, modern. . . . I ❤️ Kyoto as much as I do Seoul (and that’s saying a lot!)
Wanna climb the pagoda? 😊 The beautiful sight greeted me on the way to classes. It’s a lovely pagoda up on the hill and part of a park in the middle of our campus. I love all the #colors!
**Just don’t go up there at night. 😂 It’s pretty much destined to live as a kind of ‘kissing kastle’ sort of place at night. When all the students have 7 other kids in their rooms, couples find privacy here 😜
Perhaps one of the most famous landmarks in China, running parallel to the Forbidden City and the Great Wall is Shanghai’s great Oriental Pearl Tower. Standing bright and beautiful in the Lujiazui area along the Huangpu River, the Pearl Tower is on almost every landmark postcard, movie cityscape, and Shanghai tourist items. It was once accidentally moved to Hong Kong on a US movie poster and the Chinese people were understandably horrified. Built in 1994, this tower was the tallest structure in China up until 2007, and is still one of China’s top ranked “things to see.” Viewers however are recommended to come early, early, early in the morning if you want to beat the lines.
Hours are from 8:30am – 9:30pm
If you want to go clear up to the “Space Module” it’s 220RMB ($33). If you just do the upper observatories it’s 160RMB ($24).
A Life Savored 